Im an obsessive compulsive boat fiddler and dont know when to leave well enough alone, so help me out here.

On my 2002 Tiger, it appears that I can move the mast rotation wishbone down to the bottom of the mast base, by adding a longer bolt to the downhaul blocks, then run it under the tramp and put a 2-1 purchase and hull mounted cleats for on the wire rotation fun. Question is, is it worth the fuss? Im planning on racing the Tiger this year and then selling it after and getting a lightly used Wildcat, if I can find the right one. Given that its my first full season doing F18 racing, should I skip the all the tweaking, sail it as is and then let the next guy do the tweaking? Ive already upgraded a ton of stuff, SNU, gelcoat, new standing and running rigging, jib, spin, main (ST, but a nice one), Jib cunningham, lost the furler etc. If this isnt that critical an upgrade, and its only gonna save me .5 seconds a leg, then I should probably skip it right?

I saw Macca's tuning videos and he said on the Infusion, they kept forgeting to release the mast rotation downwind, left it rotated back and didnt even notice a difference. Granted, different boat, pro sailor etc, but maybe its not that critical?

Whachooall think?

_________________Blair T

I love these calm moments before the storm, it reminds me of Beethoven...

My primary logic is that I don't like the darn thing swinging back and forth in the light air chop.In the stock location it's up out of the way. And I don't find it's one of the adjustments I need to make from the side of the boat.

Moved mine from the base back up to above the boom for simplicity. Trying to figure a better system for adjustment than just the clam cleat. I like it better above the boom, less clutter, but it is nice to be able to see the difference it makes while tweaking it from the wire. First season, leave it alone, and if you get a WC its already done. If you don't get a WC, then think about it for next season.

I moved the wishbone to the base toward the end of the season last year, like it, and wish I had done it sooner. Advantages for locating at the base in addition to the capability of adjusting mast rotation from the wire:

-Safety: When above the boom, the crew can easily hit their head on the wishbone. (Our moms might caution us about getting an eye put out.)

-Makes the boom an acceptable place to mount a hand-held marine-band radio.

-One can no longer connect the boom with the wishbone hanging down, like I used to do the first time most days.

Beware that the bolt thru the sheaves at the base of the mast is smaller in diameter than the wishbone mounting bolt above the boom. If the original wishbone were used, it wouldn't fit tight. Having it wiggle due to that slop seemed highly undesirable, so I bought a new wishbone with hole size to match the base bolt, from Murray's. I bought the bolt from Fastenal.com.